Camping Trip Chapter Nine

Aiden made sure to check the cabin before he practiced violin, though he didn’t get much time to do that anyway. Connor and Evie kept him busy. He didn’t mind. He had all summer to practice.

On the third day they finally spent a night inside. There wasn’t any satellite connection, but there were movies. Mandy had bought a few for each of the cabins. They all agree on ‘The Mummy’.

“He was so attractive back then” Evie sighed. “Connor get us a blanket.”

Connor was just after putting a bowl of popcorn down. “How about someone else gets it?”

“You’re already up” Evie snuggled against Aiden’s side, and he checked that Connor wasn’t annoyed. Connor just rolled his shoulders and disappeared into his room.

“He’s such a good boy.” Evie whispered.

Aiden cracked a smile.

Connor threw the blanket from his bed over them, and then got the one from Aiden’s room too. Evie had stretched out to take his spot, and he had to squeeze into a place at the end of the couch.

He and Connor talked a bit, but their commentary on the movie was hushed by Evie. The second movie was the same, ‘The Mummy Returns’, except Evie fell asleep, sprawled out on Aiden’s lap.

“Those guys are creepy.” Connor remarked about the enemy army. Humanoid dogs. Taller than people and running with their leg joints in weird places.

“Yeah.” Aiden agreed.

Connor rested his head against Aiden’s shoulder. Aiden frowned for a moment, but didn’t mind.

He made it to the credits.

He knew another movie would just put him asleep. “Should we move Evie to one of the beds?”

Connor didn’t answer. Aiden glanced down, and found him asleep.

He reached for the remote and clicked the tv off. He rested his head on the back of the couch, but even if he’d felt like dozing off during the movie he didn’t feel like that now.

He wasn’t sure why he couldn’t sleep. He didn’t mind them leaning on him. But he couldn’t relax enough to let his brain turn off. He stared at the wooden boards going across the ceiling and drummed his fingers, going through the songs he needed for his audition.

The door handle slowly turned and it the front door creaked open.

Aiden twisted his head around to see the trio tip toeing in. Hugh spotted him, and scowled. Kal raised an eyebrow at the sleeping bodies. Lucas leaned over the back of the couch.

“Do you need help?” Lucas asked softly.

“I don’t want to wake them.” Aiden looked at him upside down. It was odd. Different. It may have been the ache in his neck, or his tired eyes that made Lucas look so… Aiden wanted to turn away.

“Connor can…” Lucas eyes flicked to Evie and trailed off. “Can I get you anything?”

“Just flick off the lights” Aiden answered.

Lucas nodded.

Aiden noticed Hugh watching them and looked away.

“Night” Lucas said.

Their doors clicked into place, and Connor moved his face so he could look down the hall. “What was he going to say? Connor can what?”

“Move.” Aiden replied.

“Grumpy” Evie commented.

“Have you both just been pretending to sleep?” Aiden grumbled. He wasn’t annoyed. But for some reason his interaction with Lucas had felt weird. He didn’t like that they’d heard it.

“I don’t want to go outside” Evie pulled the covers around her.

“You can sleep in my room” Aiden sighed.

“Dude.” Connor gave him a look.

Aiden blinked. Right. That’s not good. “You can have a bed and I’ll share with Connor.”

“Is that any better?” Evie giggled.

“You’re heavy.” Aiden dislodged her as he stood up suddenly.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.” Evie caught his hand, “Don’t be mad.”

Aiden looked at her small hand clinging to his fingers. “I’m not mad.”

Evie stared up at him with dark brown eyes. She kept a hold of his hand as she stood up and hugged him.

Aiden shot Connor a confused look.

Connor yawned.

Aiden stepped back. He didn’t know why she was hugging him, but it felt like he was being pitied. Being pitied over something she and Connor had just decided by themselves.

Suddenly Aiden wished he hadn’t been so ambiguous when answering Connor’s questions. He’d be sure not to do that again.

*

Aiden was gorge walking again, and this time it was less fun. Lucas had heard from Connor how they’d spent the day yesterday and had declared he wanted to do it too. That meant Hugh and Kal had to go. And, unfortunately, it meant Aiden had to as well.

Gorge walking wasn’t like a stroll in the woods. In case of an emergency, a guide had to be present.

It had been drizzling since yesterday, so the current was stronger. Hugh shoved him whenever he got too close. Aiden ended up falling into the river a lot more than he had yesterday.

Lucas didn’t notice.

Kal did. Kal just rolled his eyes.

The showers were a different experience to before.

“That was good.” Lucas grinned broadly.

His good mood seemed to have infected Hugh, because he smiled back. “Yeah.”

The warm water stung his tender skin but felt good at the same time. He closed his eyes and leaned underneath the stream of water. The water muffled everyone’s voices, and then they became disjoined. Strange. Aiden looked.

Lucas was looking at him. Not in a strange way. Not in a way that justified the curling in Aiden’s exposed stomach. He was frowning at him. Frowning at his back. “You’ve got a lot of marks.”

Hugh and Kal looked uneasy. Their conversation had completely fizzled out.

“Marks?” Aiden feigned ignorance.

Lucas went under the spout next to him and tilted his head to look him over. “On your back.”

Aiden moved his head back to the shower head and let it douse his face. “Probably from the wetsuit.”

“No, it looks like bruises.”

He felt warm fingertips brush over where it ached the worst. Aiden shivered.

“We were all stumbling on the wet rocks” Hugh said tersely, “It’s not a big deal.”

Aiden moved over to the towels and changed. Lucas was by his side after only a few moments. He kept his eyes fixed in front of him until Lucas had his clothes on. He couldn’t look like he had with Connor. He wasn’t sure why.

“Any plans for dinner?” Lucas hopped to his side as they started down the path.

Aiden imagined he was being glared at right now. But Hugh couldn’t blame him if Lucas wanted to talk to him. Aiden bet he was blaming him anyway.

“Nothing in particular” Aiden told him, “You?”

“I was going to make chicken. Want to join me?”

“We’re out of chicken.” Aiden said.

Lucas’s easy-going expression flickered into something else. Aiden allowed himself to look closer, for just a moment. His handsome features were tensed into something annoyed.

“I can check the main cabin for more.” Aiden watched, and the annoyance left.

“I’ll come with you.”

“What about the pizza’s in the freezer? It’s better than chicken.” Hugh complained.

Lucas glanced behind him with a smile. It didn’t reach his eyes. “Then have pizza. I never said I was making you dinner.”

Aiden peeked back. Hugh was frozen. His lips parted, his eyes muggy and his body wrought with tension. The severity of his reaction was startling. So was Lucas as he continued to smile.

“Alright, fine, you grump” Kal said tiredly, “We’ll give you some peace for the evening.”

On the surface, Kal’s words diffused the situation, but his eyes were sharp when he said them. Hugh stayed silent. And Lucas chatty mood was clearly forced. Aiden felt like he was holding his breath the entire way back, and only when they split away from Hugh and Kal, and Lucas stopped talking, could he take in a breath.

Linda and Mandy were sitting at one of the tables inside cabin one with tall glasses of pink drinks.

“Do you mind if we use the kitchen?” Aiden asked.

“No bother, do you need help with anything?” Mandy asked.

Lucas didn’t say anything, so Aiden said no thank you.

Lucas dug out chicken breast, peppers, carrots, broccoli, soy sauce, rice and searched through the spice cupboard. Aiden wondered if he should break the silence, or leave Lucas be.

“Can I help with something?” He asked cautiously.

“Yeah.” Lucas put the vegetables onto a plate and handed them over. “Rinse and slice these. Please.”

Aiden washed them and moved to the spot next to Lucas where he was cutting the chicken. He eyed the knife in his hands and the way Lucas used it. He’d done this before. Aiden hadn’t. The vegetables looked shoddy.

“Are you okay?” Aiden asked. He knew it wasn’t his business, and there was a chance he’d get snapped at like Hugh had.

“Sorry you had to see that.” Lucas answered quietly. He wiped his cheek with the back of his hand, and kept his eyes fixed on the chicken. “No. I’m sorry I snapped at all.”

“I thought you were getting along okay.” Aiden asked as he butchered a red pepper. “The camping trip didn’t go well?”

“It was fine.” Lucas said. “But I swear they’re doing it on purpose.”

“Doing what on purpose?”

“Annoying me. Taking up all my time, not letting me be alone. I’m supposed to be getting to know Connor and I’ve hardly spent any time with him.” Lucas’s knife hit the cutting board with louder thumps as he spoke, “And I swear to god they come running if they think I’m talking to anyone else.”

Aiden eyed his fingers. “Careful.”

Lucas stopped cutting and let out a harsh breath. He closed his eyes for second, and when he opened them he moved slower.

Aiden wasn’t sure what to say. If it was his friends back home, Roma was who he hung out with most, he wouldn’t have that problem. “I don’t know what your relationship is like exactly, but if it were my friends, if we’re getting on each other’s nerves we say so.” He scraped the last of his vegetables onto a plate, “I mean, obviously not something like ‘your hairstyle’s irritating’, or ‘I don’t like your accent’ but the other stuff.”

“Like?”

“Like…” Aiden put down his knife. “Chew with your mouth closed. Don’t shout in my ear. Stop texting me at three in the morning.”

“She texts you that late?” Lucas frowned.

Aiden wondered how he knew who he was talking about, but then didn’t find it strange. He didn’t spend time with anyone else but Roma. “She never sleeps.”

“I’ll try it” Lucas shrugged, “but I don’t think I can say anything without getting mad about it.”

Aiden pat his shoulder. “You’ll do fine.”

Lucas gave him a brief smile, and his eyes flicked down to the plate of vegetables. His lips twitched up. Aiden looked. He’d turned fresh goods into a mushy mess.

“It will taste fine.” Lucas said taking the plate. He smiled to himself as he put it next to the pan and smiled again when cooking them with the chicken.

“It’s not that funny.” Aiden sat on the counter top.

“I didn’t realise you had things you were bad at.” Lucas said.

Aiden’s thoughts immediately went to the rock climbing. The competitiveness. The need Lucas had to be better than him. “I didn’t realise you knew how to cook.”

“Mom gets home late.” Lucas said, “I taught myself, so she’d have a nice meal waiting for her when she got back.”

“That’s…” Aiden studied his expression. Was he trying to boast right now? To show off? He looked relaxed. Casual. “Sweet.”

Lucas shifted his weight and looked uncomfortable. “It’s only frying a few things.”

“Better than having to microwave something.” Aiden pointed out.

“Depends on what I’m cooking. Most of the time the microwaved meals are preferable.” Lucas spoke lowly.

Aiden hopped down from the counter and stood next to Lucas. “Looks good to me.”

Lucas shot him a smile. Small and brief, with blushing cheeks.

A/N: Easter Break is officially over so I’m back at college. This story will most likely only get updated once a week for the next while. Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoy. Also, I’d love any feedback on the story, writing as I go so it’s a work in progress.😊